Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A)
Intended to introduce individuals to search engines and databases on the Internet, in particular those that are available to HBS. This exercise is a more difficult version of Working with Your "Shadow Partner" and is intended for those with some previous Internet research experience.
Swot Analysis of "Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A)" written by Richard L. Nolan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Shadow Intended facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, Internet and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shadow Intended, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shadow Intended operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shadow Intended
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shadow Intended
Strengths Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shadow Intended in Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shadow Intended are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Shadow Intended has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Shadow Intended in the sector have low bargaining power. Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shadow Intended to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Shadow Intended has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Shadow Intended is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Shadow Intended in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Shadow Intended is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Shadow Intended is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Shadow Intended is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Shadow Intended digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Shadow Intended has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Innovation driven organization
– Shadow Intended is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Shadow Intended has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Shadow Intended to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Shadow Intended
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Shadow Intended does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shadow Intended in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Shadow Intended has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Shadow Intended, firm in the HBR case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Shadow Intended needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Richard L. Nolan suggests that, Shadow Intended is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A), it seems that the employees of Shadow Intended don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Need for greater diversity
– Shadow Intended has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Shadow Intended has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Shadow Intended 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) HBR case study mentions - Shadow Intended takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A), is just above the industry average. Shadow Intended needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Shadow Intended has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Shadow Intended has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shadow Intended to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Shadow Intended has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Shadow Intended to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) case study. Shadow Intended can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Shadow Intended to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Shadow Intended can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shadow Intended can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Shadow Intended in the consumer business. Now Shadow Intended can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Shadow Intended to increase its market reach. Shadow Intended will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Shadow Intended in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shadow Intended is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shadow Intended can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Shadow Intended can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Shadow Intended can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Shadow Intended can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Shadow Intended to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Threats Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shadow Intended can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Shadow Intended can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Shadow Intended in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Shadow Intended needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Shadow Intended can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Shadow Intended needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Shadow Intended will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Shadow Intended.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Shadow Intended business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shadow Intended has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shadow Intended needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Shadow Intended demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shadow Intended can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Shadow Intended is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Working with Your "Shadow Partner" in the Healthcare Industry (A) is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Shadow Intended needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
